Poverty in Samoa - Research Paper Example

? Poverty in Samoa Samoa is formed by a group of islands (nine) in the Pacific Ocean. The islands played an important role in colonization of the Pacific region by the major Western powers. According to statistics collected in 2009, the country has a population of approximately 183,203 with life expectancy being 66 years for male and 70 years for females. In addition, the country’s literacy level is rated at 98.6%. Work force statistics indicate that 2% of the country’s population is in agriculture, 50% in service industry while 18% of the total population is in formal employment. The country’s GDP as per the year 2010 stood at $709.3million. The composition of GDP by sector stood at services 75.4%, industry 13.2, and agriculture 3.4%. The Samoan economy largely depends on tourism, capital flows, agriculture and manufactured exports. Since 1962, when Samoa got independence, the country is governed by an elected parliament. The country’s economy has been struggling to regain its lost glory after two consecutive cyclones that hit it, in 1990. Since then, the government has tried to introduce different economic reforms in order to improve the economy with no success. Some of the measures that were set aside by the government include liberalization of exchange control. Although some improvements were recorded in 1994-1996, the economic growth slowed down by the end of the decade. The condition was worsened by tsunami and an economic downturn that followed the tsunami. Consequently, according to the statistics by United Nation, Samoa is categorized among the 50 least developed countries in the world (UNDP & Samoa Bureau of Statistics, 2010). A study conducted showed that poverty and inequality in Samoa are a key hindrance to the development of the country. Scholars have divided the major causes of poverty in Samoa into three: Economic causes, Social causes and Political causes. One major economic cause is the issue of difficulty in exploiting resources. This can very clearly illustrated by the ignorance or undervaluation of domestic tourism in the country (Scheyvens, 2007). Study has indicated that while the country is very keen on promoting tourism internationally, domestic tourism is completely ignored and this has been a major pull back since a lot of revenue which lies with domestic tourists is lost. The government tends to focus on maximizing its foreign exchange earnings and will therefore mostly ignore the part of domestic tourism. This is due to the belief that with the high foreign exchange earnings the government will be able to pay its foreign debt. The government also has an assumption that more money can be earned by attracting tourists who can afford luxurious goods and services. Contrary to this assumption, study shows that domestic tourism also makes a significant economic contribution since it is not subject to problems arising from travel booking systems, changing international tastes, perceived economic threats or world economic threats. Moreover, while the international tourism will be subject to fluctuations due to seasonal changes, domestic tourism on the other hand can hold a constant number of tourists for a long period of time, unless affected by external forces such as natural disasters. A social cause of poverty in Samoa is the lack of access to basic services (Amosa, 2012). A recent research conducted showed that the citizens of Samoa had unlimited access to health provision, decent meals and clean water. The problem of sanitation is also rampant in the country due to lack of fresh water for cleaning. Consequently, sanitation affects both domestic and international tourism in the country thus, leading to increased poverty levels in the country. A survey conducted in the year 2002 and 2008 also indicated that Samoa had been trying to advance in its social development but still, the subject of inequity was very rampant in the country with most of the households struggling to meet their basic needs (UNDP, 2010). A key political cause leading to poverty in the country is the redistribution policy. Decisions concerning levels of taxation and public expenditures in the country will be made by a just a few persons who are in power. But will in turn, end up having a great impact on the economy of the citizens in the country as a whole. Samoa has gone through an extensive tax reform including the introduction of value added goods and services tax and the reducing of income taxes. This greatly affected the overall income of the country since the tax rates were not affordable to all the citizens in the country (Amosa, 2012). This also significantly affected the tourism economy as a whole since most of the citizens’ income was notably affected. The major consequences of poverty in Samoa include an extremely notable down fall in the economy. The educational environment especially, has been notably affected. Poverty has made many families have poor living standards and thus, they are unable to afford education expenses. Consequently, study shows that nearly one quarter of Samoans have not completed high school (Kittler & Sucher, 2007). One cure that has been identified to help Samoa in regaining its economic development is the investment in the tourism industry. Most importantly, the country should pay more attention into promotion and development of domestic tourism in the country. This is due to the fact that; research has already proven that domestic tourism has both economic and cultural benefits. Domestic tourism has few overall fixed overheads and costs. It also encourages local entrepreneurship in the country thus, leading to an increase in incomes in the country. Promotion of domestic tourism will also create a very healthy and effective competition in the country (Hall, 2007). Favorable competition will in turn lead to full exploitation of other resources in the country to support the increase in economic activities. This way, there will be an increase in the incomes generated and thus, overall reduction in poverty. Another cure of poverty that Samoa can embrace is the equity in the provision of social services in the country. The government should focus on provision of services such as education, health and other basic needs such as water and shelter. Challenges such as poor quality services should be solved and improvements put in place. A recent report given showed that the government in Samoa has been focusing on provision of formal education. The same strategy is also being implemented in provision of vocational training and provision of the necessary manpower in different economic sectors (Amosa, 2012). From the research, it is clear indeed that Samoa has the potential to move from a less developed country to a developing country. To achieve this, however, it should first take a key note of improving development of its chief source of income, which is tourism. According to Hall (2007), the country should also take into consideration other factors, such as sustainable development methods. Pro-poor approaches and community-driven development methods are one way of ensuring that a sustainable development is achieved. References Amosa, D. U. (2012). Social policies in Samoa. London, United Kingdom: Commonwealth Secretariat. Hall, C. M. (2007). Pro-poor tourism: Who benefits? Perspectives on tourism and poverty reduction. Canada: Channel View Publications. Kittler, P. G., & Sucher, K. (2007). Food and culture. (5th ed.). USA: Cengage Learning. Scheyvens, R. (2007). Poor cousins no more: Valuing the development potential of domestic and diaspora tourism. Progress in Development Studies, 7(4), 307-325. UNDP & Samoa Bureau of Statistics. (2010). Samoa: A report on the estimation of the basic needs, poverty lines and the incidences and characteristics of hardships and the poverty. Analysis of 2008 HIES. Retrieved on 25th August, 2012, from https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:A20_aUjVf64J:www.undp.org.ws/Portals/12/News%2520Room/Publications/Poverty%2520Report/SAM_Poverty_Analysis_Report_Final_280310.pdf+&hl=en&gl=ke&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESg0QoAVgAbIEfTzkwSJ4wsiolpmiYx4_x8JH9eBhwzSlGWEAq70D4nffNfbIQgccDpKoC52lzriBRDWg0gZTvc4fUX02_tzQHDcM1KnOyMnrZTdkZvpZew8dwyZsfRkzg8g3W7f&sig=AHIEtbStKNepCgOy0iJAD45ZmoEWyPhg7Q Read More